Reference News, November 25 - A report titled "Trump is Ensuring Europeans Become Sheep, Vance is in Charge of Shearing Them" was recently published on the website of the French magazine L'Express. The reporter is Coran Tang Penaigeal. The following is an excerpt:

As a special correspondent for the Swiss newspaper "Observateur," Richard Veyret embarked on a road trip across the United States from Chicago to Donald Trump's private residence, Mar-a-Lago in Florida, to visit the people he calls "Campers America." He wrote a book called "America That Hates Us," which was published on October 29.

An unexpected angle is that on American roads, Veyret felt only disdain and hatred towards old Europe. To supporters of "Make America Great Again" (MAGA), Europe is guilty of being weak and has been taking advantage of the U.S. for too long. In the eyes of this journalist, European leaders who are used to bowing in the Oval Office have not changed this situation at all.

"Europeans Are of No Use"

Question: You set out on an American road trip to explore European topics, but you encountered contempt and even hatred. Who are these Americans who hate us?

Richard Veyret: Mainly the "MAGA" group, and this hostility shocked me. When people saw my book title, many said it was wrong, that America does not hate us... But unfortunately, there is indeed a group of Americans who are thoroughly influenced by MAGA theory and hate us. Trump's success lies in implanting this hatred into the consciousness of many people, with immigrants and Biden at the top of the hatred pyramid, followed by Europeans.

Last year, before the election, I rented an RV for two months and traveled from Chicago to Mar-a-Lago in Florida. At campgrounds, the American people I met gathered around barbecues at night and told me, "You Europeans are of no use." This is the essence of hatred: they think we have lost our value, they think we can't convey persuasive messages to them, even though their population is mostly white, and some even come from Europe. The MAGA group values strength, thinking we are too weak, too tolerant, and too ambiguous: they seek clear pictures — Christian, married white populations, etc.

Question: Does this group of Americans also see Europe as the opposite of their social model and values?

Answer: What really fuels the hatred is the fact that we dare to claim ourselves as an alternative. The topic of defense and military often comes up: "You Europeans criticize the wars we once launched and now regret, such as the Iraq war, but you didn't help us at all." I have seen Americans who lost children in wars, and in their eyes, their own children went away, and Europeans are not trustworthy.

Question: Is this anti-European sentiment stronger than ever before, or is Trump just good at expressing this sentiment through words?

Answer: From my observation, the biggest change in today's America is that pro-Europeans are silent. Fear has taken root. American university professors who study Europe are careful with their words. A silence rule hovers over the entire pro-Europe elite. And European countries choose to submit to Trump.

It Is Profitable to Attack Europe

Question: This US government seems to have pushed its hostility toward Europe to a new stage. Compared to Trump's first term, what has changed?

Answer: He learned lessons from the "Trump 1.0" era: first, he realized that he had to act quickly, and the success or failure of his term depended on the first two years. He also faced pressure from mid-term elections. When Trump needed to accelerate, he always looked for scapegoats: the easiest targets to attack were Europe, not China!

Second, Trump and his "higher" MAGA voter group clearly know that Europe is a fertile ground.

Vance, a billionaire Peter Thiel's representative, knows that there is profit in our European countries. Trump wants Europe to submit, while others want to reap our wealth. And they are right: our consumers cannot resist American electronics, and unlike Chinese and Russian consumers, they don't have alternatives. Trump wants to ensure that Europeans become sheep, and Vance is in charge of shearing them.

Question: In Trump's second term, it seems that Europe's strategy has changed, more submissive and trying to please. Is this a good strategy? Do our leaders still have choices?

Answer: The absence of a cultural counterattack from Europe shocked me. For a year, Europeans have been knocked off balance—they underestimated the power of political hammer, didn't expect Trump to hit them so hard. On the other hand, they were surprised to find that it wasn't just Trump who hated Europe, but the whole America. Many European leaders, diplomats, and ambassadors were caught off guard.

How do we Europeans respond? The data is there, we no longer go to the US. This is not a boycott, but rather, we think it's a crazy country, so we no longer travel there. Anyway, the rift is deepening.

Europe Becomes a "Misfortunate Vassal"

Question: You wrote that Trump follows the creed of his spiritual mentor Roy Cohn: "Attack, attack, and attack again." How much longer can European leaders endure? Can Europe at some point rise up and say "Enough"?

Answer: I believe that most Europeans and political leaders now think: Well, they hate us, but we need them too much. This is what the magazine "The Continent" called "Happy Vassal." I prefer to call it "Unhappy Vassal," which is worse. We know that Americans hate us, yet we also know that they are too strong and too rich.

Question: Even if Trump imposes absurd tariffs on us?

Answer: Now, there is a prevailing view in all levels of Europe that "the US is too strong and too rich." We know that Americans hate us, yet we still try to please them, hoping they will hate us less. This worries me because I believe most European governments take this stance, except Spain and France.

Question: You mentioned in your book a German professor talking about the "American poison" spreading in European democratic countries. Will the Trump administration sound the death knell for today's Europe?

Answer: I am just a journalist, I cannot predict the future. Regardless, we are in a difficult position. Unfortunately, institutionalized Europe has given up the pursuit of profits. However, money is always the engine of innovation. We have also given up borders and force. Moreover, fundamentally, we haven't found an alternative to authoritarianism, because democracy is still structurally fragile and inefficient. (Translated by Zhao Ke Xin)

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7576600831554765355/

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